Hitting 'confirm' on a hotel booking no longer ends the shopping. According to new research from Skift and McKinsey & Company, 41% of U.S. travellers keep comparing prices for their trip even after they've locked in a room, and 29% keep browsing alternative options in case something better comes along.
And this isn't idle window-shopping. Just over half of travellers — 51% — say they have actually switched hotels or accommodation after spotting a more appealing option on social media. A scrolled-past video of a rooftop pool in Lisbon or a cheaper rate flagged in a TikTok comment can undo a booking that was made weeks earlier.
The report frames this as a genuine headache for the hotel business. Revenue managers, distribution teams and loyalty programme leads now face a fuzzy window between booking and check-in where nothing is truly settled: which reservations need defending with a price match or an upgrade, which competitor guests are worth poaching, and how to keep a booking from quietly unravelling in the weeks before arrival. Owners and asset managers, whose margins ride on those decisions, are paying attention.
The industry, the report notes, partly built this behaviour itself. Flexible cancellation policies — a fixture since the pandemic — make switching essentially free, so travellers have little to lose by continuing to shop. Add price-tracking tools, rate alerts and a social feed full of aspirational hotel content, and the post-booking period becomes a second, ongoing negotiation rather than a done deal.
What does this mean if you're the one booking? A few things. First, book refundable rates where you can — they're your licence to keep looking, and the data shows plenty of people do. Second, set a price alert or recheck your rate a week or two before arrival; if it's dropped, rebook and cancel the original. Third, treat hotel content on social media as a genuine source of inspiration rather than just advertising — the research suggests a lot of switchers found their better option there. Finally, if you're loyal to a chain, it's worth checking whether their app will match a lower rate you find elsewhere; hotels increasingly have an incentive to keep you rather than lose you to a rival.
For the hotels, the message is that loyalty is up for grabs right up until check-in. For travellers, it's simpler: your first booking is just a placeholder, and the real final price is whatever you find last.
